4/17/11

Shirt.Woot! shocked and excited their artists this week by announcing this weeks derby theme to be zombies! Zombies have become a pop culture icon. I really wanted to make a statement this week instead of just drawing a generic zombie shirt, and I wanted to show off my skills for character design and gritty art.

Zombie Starbucks - Original Pencil Concept

The statement I wanted to make is an Anti-Starbucks stance. I'm a coffee guy, OK? As a Graphic Designer in a production setting, I inject coffee directly into my veins. For those of you who wonder, I prefer Tim Horton's coffee to all of the competitors. I think Starbucks has the worst tasting cup of coffee on the market. It tastes charred and bitter and requires far too much cream and sugar to make remotely drinkable. I'm making a statement here against the zombie culture of consumerism. I wanted to portray the morning zombie line of corporate folk lining up ready to fork over $4 for a cup of burnt tasting Joe.

Zombie Starbucks - Finished Inks

I really got to use the new Wacom Cintiq in this derby. From pencils to inks, everything was done entirely digitally. It amazes me how much these pieces really look like the medium they are supposed to represent. The versatility this equipment provides is unbelievable. Wacom should really start paying me to brag about their equipment, because I can't say enough good things about their products.

This style is really typical to my kind of artwork. Yes, I try to do simplified cutesy designs to sell tee shirts, and you could call me a sell out, but I wanted everyone to know that this is really what I do and what I'm capable of. I'm very proud of the raw gritty sketchiness I brought to life in this piece. There was one problem however. I am a terrible colors. Fortunately, my friend Tony Odysseyroc Avina, who is a professional comic book colorist, offered to color this piece for me.

Zombie Starbucks - Tony Odysseroc Final Colors

What's most important to me is that this is my first collaborative piece I have ever done. I am very used to doing everything myself from start to finish. There has been no bigger thrill for me than to see a true professional's take on my artwork. Currently, this piece is in 67th place in the derby, but that's with my crappy slapped together colors. Tony and I plan on shopping this design around and selling it to a website that appreciates what I'm trying to say, and our artwork. Let me know what you think of the APSketches, Odessyroc collaborative zombie coffee shop piece.